Their Beginning
by osirisredgirl
Summary: "We're not our parents and we never will be." [50 NextGen Drabbles]
1. Warmth

**Disclaimer:** I have no claim on any of the characters or the world of Harry Potter. This was just written for fun.

**Title:** Their Beginning

**Word Count:** 547

**Status:** In-Complete

**Genre:** General, Drama

**Rated:** PG-13

**Challenge:** Favorite Era Boot Camp | 50 prompts on an era in the Potter!verse.

**Feedback:** All forms accepted.

**Summary: **"It's an obvious fact, Albus. We're not our parents and we never will be." [50 NextGen Prompts]

* * *

The first thing that struck Albus Potter as being unusual about the Slytherin Common Room was the fact that it was so _warm. _James had told him that the Slytherin Common Room was a dungeon that was full of students who were all half-troll and that were just waiting to eat him alive _so he better be a Gryffindor._ But fate had something else in store for him, and within a few moments of having The Sorting Hat placed on his head, he had been shuffled off to Slytherin house.

He was the first Potter to be sorted into Slytherin house, and every few moments he couldn't help but feel as though his father would appear out of nowhere and reprimand him for not being a Gryffindor. That thought in itself was absurd, because his father had told him that it would be perfectly alright for him to be a Slytherin. That since the war, Slytherins weren't regarded in quite the same light. But even as he'd gone to sit with his new housemates, he wasn't able to escape the looks of bewilderment from the other students.

He shouldn't have relented when the Sorting Hat asked him if he really didn't want Slytherin. He supposed that part of him wanted to prove to his brother that he wasn't afraid of being a Slytherin. That he was far braver than James ever would be, because James was too scared to go anywhere but Gryffindor.

He leaned back in his armchair by the fire. The common room was far more quiet than he thought that it would be on Sorting Night, and there wasn't a party going on or anything like a celebration. Instead, various students were chatting in tight groups in various spots around the room.

A boy with white-blonde hair that James had pointed out as Scorpius Malfoy (adding something colorful about how was probably a slimy git like his dad) sat down in the chair next to him.

"Scorpius Malfoy, right?"

Scorpius nearly jumped in surprise when Albus addressed him. "Yes."

"I'm Albus. Albus Potter."

"I know who you are. Everyone does."

"Sorry. I'm just not used to um." He isn't sure what he's saying and trailed off as he tried to think.

"-being away from your family?"

Albus isn't certain if Scorpius is trying to say that he should have been sorted into Gryffindor or if he's reading into what he's saying more than he should. "I guess. My brother isn't too keen on Slytherin. Says they're all slimy gits and half-trolls who eat first years."

He expected Slytherins in the common room to look up at his remark, but no one seems phased enough to care about their conversation. Scorpius doesn't seem insulted either, and instead laughs lightly, as though he didn't just insult his new house.

"Well, my dad always said that Slytherin took care of their own. I've never been away from my family either, but I think it'll be okay."

Albus couldn't help but smile at the reassuring tone that the other Slytherin used. "Thanks, that means a lot."

"Why should it? It's an obvious fact. We're not our parents, Albus. And we never will be."


	2. Shadows

**Disclaimer:** I have no claim on any of the characters or the world of Harry Potter. This was just written for fun.

**Character:** Dominique Weasley, Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy

**Word Count: **477 | 1,017

* * *

Dominique had been at Hogwarts for four years, and she still hadn't managed to see much of the castle. Every time she thought that she had managed to map out parts of the castle, staircases or rooms or entire corridors would move and then she would have to go back to the drawing board.

Trying to explore the castle at night added in an extra element of danger, because she could be caught by a prefect or professor and be thrown in detention, but she didn't care. It was exciting and it made trying to catalogue every location in the castle even more thrilling.

As she rounded a corner, she could hear people whispering in hushed tones. She was quick to dart back into the shadows as she squinted to see if there was a prefect on patrol.

There were two prefects there, even from where she was standing she could see the way that the red and green prefect's badges glinted in the dim light of the corridor. It's not hard for her to recognize the girl with the red badge - the tell-tale red hair was more than enough of a dead giveaway. However, while the Slytherin boy looked familiar, she wasn't entirely sure which prefect he was. She really should have been keeping tabs on them, especially since she was in the habit of sneaking around at night.

For a moment, she's worried about the prospect of _two_ prefects on patrol, but neither of them seem to be in the process of looking for troublemakers.

Instead, they seem rather busy with each other.

They're wrapped around each other and Dominique doesn't even want to _think _about why they're so close to each other.

She strains her ears for a moment and Rose whispers something that sounds like: "Not here" or "Someone's watching", though in reality Dominique is pretty certain that she imagined the second one, because there is no way that Rose can possibly know that she's lurking around the corner.

"Dominique, what are you doing here?"

Her eyes widened instantly as she shrunk against the wall. "I was um-" she trailed off and the explanation died on her lips when the Slytherin boy is suddenly in view. "Scorpius Malfoy? What are you doing with Scorpius _Malfoy_?"

The way that she says _Malfoy _makes Scorpius roll his eyes. "Run along now, Weasley."

"Rose, he can't talk to me like that!"

Rose crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at her protest.

"Ten points from Gryffindor. Now don't let me catch you out here again."

Dominique held up her hands in defeat, before turning and deciding that she was going to go back to the Gryffindor common room.

After all, she could always send an OWL to Uncle Ron later.


	3. Sunset

**Disclaimer:** I have no claim on any of the characters or the world of Harry Potter. This was just written for fun.

**Characters:** Victoire Weasley, Teddy Lupin

**Word Count: **413 | 1,430

* * *

As the sun began to sink behind the hills, Victoire could see flecks of red, orange and yellow painted across the sky. It was the middle of September, and Victoire knew that in the coming months she would have to worry about creating patrol assignments, studying for NEWTs and figuring out where her future was headed. But at the moment, snuggled against Teddy, everything felt perfect.

"I need to get back to the castle soon," she murmured.

"You could always stay the night."

Victoire can't help but smile at his request. "It wouldn't look good if the Head Girl didn't come back to the castle on time."

He pressed a kiss against her white-blonde hair, before adding: "This isn't because of what your dad said, is it?"

Victoire bit her lip and considered Teddy's question. He had always been loved and welcomed by the Potter-Weasley clan, but she supposed that her father could be considered an imposing man. After all, not only had he once battled a werewolf and lived to tell the tale, but he _hadn't_ been turned into a werewolf, which was just _didn't_ happen.

"No, my dad likes you."

"But he still said that me working at Dervish and Banges worried him."

Victoire frowned. Teddy was the first out of everyone in the family who had been born after the war to graduate from Hogwarts, and she knew that everyone had put a lot of pressure on him to do something great immediately.

"He just doesn't want you to work too much. Since I'm going to be in school training to be a healer, I won't really be able to work. He's just thinking that if we're really going to live together that you might be stressed out."

Teddy scoffed at her explanation. "Yeah, I'm sure that's what he meant."

"I don't want to fight right now, okay?" she asked tersely - even though she understood Teddy and why he felt the way he did, it didn't mean that her patience wasn't wearing thin. "Ten more minutes and then I _need_ to go back to the castle. You know Headmistress McGonagall will have my head if I don't."

He let out a sigh and nodded. "Fine. No fighting."

She leaned up and kissed him for a moment, before she pulled away and took in the brilliant array of color in the sky for ten more quiet minutes.


	4. Driven

**Disclaimer:** I have no claim on any of the characters or the world of Harry Potter. This was just written for fun.

**Characters:** Lily L. Potter

**Word Count:** 357 | 1,787

* * *

Lily always liked the story that her father would tell about the time that he was sorted. She especially relished the parts where everyone got really quiet because they knew that they were in the presence of someone that was important (even if they didn't know how or why he was important yet), and the part where the Sorting Hat told him that he could have been a Slytherin. There wasn't a real reason why she thought it was amusing that her father had been a Slytherin (though maybe it was because James kept mentioning that Slytherins were full of half-trolls, so she thought it was a bit exciting that he'd almost ended up there).

"Potter, Lily."

But when the hall grew quiet, she didn't feel excited. She just felt her stomach twist into knots as she approached the stool. She could hear students whispering, likely speculating about which house she would call home. It didn't seem interesting or exciting, it just felt scary. People she'd never met before in her entire life were analyzing her and she could feel their eyes as they tried to know her before they'd even met her.

It wasn't that she thought that she wouldn't be scrutinized. It wasn't even just about her dad saving the world anymore - her cousin Victoire had been a Prefect and Head Girl. Dominique was the star chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and Albus was the youngest and best keeper in the school and would probably be captain of the Slytherin team within the next couple of years. Rose was widely considered to be the most brilliant witch in her year. Even James and Fred were in fairly high regard - often being compared to the famed Weasley twins who had graced Hogwarts with their presence twenty years earlier.

Even though she was only eleven, she knew that she _had_ to do something impressive. She just didn't know what yet.

When the Sorting Hat was put on her head, she took a deep breath.

_Alright, Mister Hat. Do your worst._

Because she, Lily Luna Potter, was ready.


	5. Motorcycle

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. This was written just for fun.

**Characters:** James S. Potter, Rose Weasley

**Word Count: **446 | 2,223

* * *

James was of the opinion that the only good thing about family parties was the fact that he could eat whatever he wanted and his mum would never know about it. Of course, he liked his birthday parties and Christmas, but _Hugo's_ birthday party was a different story. Not only was he not getting any presents, he had to sit around someone else's house as his mum and dad spent _forever_ talking to the other adults.

As he ducked into the Weasley's kitchen in search of more cookies, he noticed that Rose was sitting at the kitchen table reading a letter. He wouldn't have really noticed, if it were not for the fact that she was smiling like mad, because people just didn't smile like that when they were reading letters.

"Is that from your boyfriend?"

"I have no idea what you mean," she murmured. The defense sounded practiced, as though she'd had to defend her smiling-while-reading-letters behavior before.

"Come off it, Rose. Dominique told me."

And by 'told', he meant that she had come into the boys' dorm in the middle of the night, shook him awake, and proceeded to practically shout in his ear about how she had seen Rose Weasley, _their_ Rose, snogging Scorpius bloody _Malfoy_ in a dark corridor.

Rose rubbed her temples, before glancing up at him. "What's it going to take for you to keep quiet?"

"A motorcycle."

"...a _motorcycle_?"

"Well the Malfoys are rich, so your boyfriend could probably afford it."

Rose blinked at him and shook her head. "What would you even do with a motorcycle? You don't even know how to drive."

While he supposed that Rose had a point, he still wanted a motorcycle. Whenever his dad had told him stories about one of his namesakes - Sirius Black - the stories had always included Sirirus's flying motorcycle. It was badass and since he was technically named after Sirirus, James was of the opinion that he should also have a motorcycle.

He shrugged at Rose's assessment. "Well, I could always learn. Anyway, you should at least think about it."

"_Why_ would I think about that?"

He shrugged again. "Dunno, I mean, I could always tell your dad that you've been snogging the Malfoy prat. I'm sure he'd find that very interesting."

Rose narrowed her eyes at him. "You wouldn't."

"Get me that motorcycle and we'll see," James remarked, before grabbing a handful of cookies and heading back to the living room. He was certain that Rose would come around sooner or later. After all, he was holding all the cards.


	6. Train Station

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. This was written just for fun.

**Character:** Louis Weasley

**Word Count: **353 | 2,576

* * *

"_I don't want to go to Hogwarts_," Louis murmured in French against his mother's dress. It hadn't dawned on him that he would actually be leaving home for the entire summer. It hadn't scared him when his mum had taken him to Ollivander's to buy his wand or to Madam Malkin's to buy his robes. He'd even flipped through some of his schoolbooks in the days leading up to his departure date. But now that he was actually standing in front of the scarlet red train that was blowing smoke and sounding its whistle, he was _scared_.

Victoire had already graduated school. Dominique was a third year, but what if they weren't sorted into the same house? Then what was he supposed to do? Albus was in Slytherin, sure, but what if he was sorted into Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw?

Then, he would be completely alone.

"_Your father and I love you very much," _his mum added, and hugged him tightly for a moment.

"The train is about to leave," his dad remarked, and when Louis looked up, he could see that there were more parents than students left in the station.

Louis frowned and hugged his mum for a few more seconds, before reluctantly letting go. He took a few steps in the direction of the train and took a deep breath, before looking back towards his parents.

His dad had his arm around his mum, who looked as though she was trying not to cry. His father, however, appeared as stoic as he always did. It was strange how far away they already felt, even though he was only standing a few meters from them. His cousins were on the train, but he didn't think they would want to sit with him. For the most part, they were older than he was - why would they want to spend time with their baby cousin?

He knew that he wouldn't.

As he took his first tentative steps onto the train, he wondered if it was too soon to start writing a letter to his parents.


	7. Ancient

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. This was just written for fun.

**Characters:** Scorpius Malfoy, brief mentions of Rose Weasley

**Word Count: **401 | 2,977

* * *

Scorpius was well aware of the fact that for centuries, Malfoys have only married other purebloods. This was done in an effort to maintain their status as one of the preeminent magical families in not only Britain, but the world. However, the more time he spent through the years pouring over gilded journals and albums of photos, the more it becomes apparent how restrictive the practice had become.

One night over Christmas holiday, he decided to study the embroidered tapestry that was kept bunched up above the fireplace. The way that it adorned the wall shows off the gold and platinum thread that has been woven throughout the piece. When the fireplace was lit, it glitters in the light.  
But that night, he gathered up the courage to take the tapestry off the wall. As he carefully unwrapped it, he could see the twisting, tangled lines that indicated even his most distant relatives.

There are some relatives that he knew about – his father never tried to hide the connection that the family had to Death Eaters and You-Know-Who—and even as he examined the tapestry, the gold thread indicating Bellatrix Lestrange as a great-aunt remained unbroken. There were other more distant lines—ones that led to the Rosiers, another that led to Sirius Black being a cousin and another that suggested that the Potters were also related.  
So many of the lines were twisted together that it was hard to fully decipher who was related to whom and how—cousins married cousins, which led to a strange amalgamation of first-second cousins or second-third cousins.

He did not see his mother on the tapestry, which seemed a bit surprising, given the fact that his grandparents had tangled gold lines drawn between them.  
He didn't know why the tapestry bothered him so much. However, if he had to decide on a reason, he would say that it was not because so many of his relatives had married their cousins, but because Rose wasn't on that tapestry. She wasn't a pureblood and he knew about the rather unpleasant time that his dad had called her mum a mudblood when they were in school.

He knew that eventually, he would have to face his father about the whole 'Rose' issue. Some of the customs that the family adhered to were utterly ancient, and it was time to move forward.


	8. Window

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. This was written just for fun.

**Character(s):** Albus Potter, Scorpius Malfoy

**Word Count: **294 | 3,271

* * *

"Does it ever bother you that Slytherin doesn't have windows?"

Scorpius looked up at Albus from the book that he was reading and shook his head.

"I mean, Dominique told me that Gryffindor Tower has a lot of windows. So many that you can see straight across the grounds." Being able to see the entire expanse of the Forbidden Forest seemed amazing and a little bit daunting at the same time, but since Albus lived underneath the lake (yeah, he wasn't really sure how the Founders had been able to manage that one) - he'd never been able to see that magnificent view from his bedroom window.

"Victoire was in Ravenclaw, right? And apparently from Ravenclaw you could see all of Hogsmeade."

"...I fail to see why this is so important to you," Scorpius murmured as he turned another page.

Albus shrugged. So far, he was the only one from his family who had been sorted into Slytherin. Victoire and Molly had found their way to Ravenclaw. Lucy and Lily were Hufflepuffs, and Louis, Rose, Hugo and James were all Gryffindors.

"I don't know Scor, sometimes it feels like I'm missing something."

Scorpius let out a sigh as he turned another page.

"Are you actually _still_ reading?"

"No, unfortunately I'm sitting here listening to an awful lot about the lack of windows in the common room."

"...Right," Albus murmured as he looked down at the table. "...but don't you think it would be cool if we had port holes in the common room like a ship? We'd be the only ones that could see the Giant Squid all the time."

Scorpius snapped his book shut, before saying: "I'm going to go read upstairs."


	9. Angel

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. This was written just for fun.

**Character(s): **Lorcan & Lysander Scamander, Lucy Weasley

**Word Count: ** 463 | 3,734

* * *

It was the first day of Spring, and Lorcan and Lysander were lying on the grass near the lake. It was unseasonably warm, so many students were outside enjoying the warm weather that could leave at a moment's notice.

Lorcan let out a sigh as he reached up and started to trace the shapes of the clouds in the sky with his index finger. "Do you ever think about some of the creatures that Mum and Dad are always studying?"

"No, why?"

"I dunno, sometimes I think about angels."

Lysander propped himself up and gave his brother a quizzical look. "Angels aren't like Acromantula_. _They're like Wrackspurts or Crumpled-Horn Snorkacks." Their mum had traveled the world for years looking for evidence of mayhem that had been caused by Wrackspurts or Crumpled-Horn Snorkacks, but she had never been able to find any definitive proof that they existed. "Why are you thinking about them anyway?"

Even though Lorcan didn't say anything, it was easy for Lysander to figure it out. All he had to do was look down towards the lake where Lucy Weasley (easily noticeable by the trademark Weasley red hair) was splashing in the lake with one of her cousins.

"You fancy Lucy."

Lorcan turned bright red. "And what if I do?"

"Isn't she like a sixth year?"

"So?"

Lysander let out a sound of amusement and shook his head as he settled back onto the grass. "Maybe you should go talk to her." The mocking tone that he used didn't go unnoticed by his brother who rolled his eyes in response.

"I can't just go _talk_ to her."

"Why can't you?"

"I dunno. Because she's a ginger angel goddess?"

Lysander rolled his eyes. "Yes, and she'll just find this out even if you _never_ speak to her."

"...I just don't know what I'm supposed to say."

"How about hi?"

"No, that would never work."

"Whatever," Lysander replied, before sighing in exasperation. Trying to reason with Lorcan was next to impossible, especially when it concerned a girl. And not just any girl, one that just _had_ to be related to the Potter-Weasley family.

There was a moment of silence between them, before Lorcan hopped to his feet. "I'm going to go over there." Lysander could have scoffed at this statement (and he would have), but a few seconds later, Lorcan was making his way to the edge of the lake.

Lysander sat up as he watched his brother wave to Lucy, before his foot got caught on a rock and he went sailing straight into the lake. "Well, at least he tried," he murmured as he reclined once again to enjoy the sunshine.


	10. Roses

**Disclaimer:** I don't Harry Potter. This was written just for fun.

**Character(s): **Rose Weasley, Lily L. Potter, Scorpius Malfoy

**Word Count: **596|4,330

* * *

It was Valentine's Day at Hogwarts, which meant that the day would be full of house elves delivering pink-and-red cards as well as flowers to various students who may or may not have been aware of what they were about to receive. The candles that normally were suspended in the air in the Great Hall had been replaced with hearts, which made Rose frown that morning.

She was not fond of overt expressions of affection, and aside from Dominique (and now James, much to her chagrin) nobody knew about her boyfriend. It wasn't that she was ashamed or anything, it was that she knew that her father would probably explode the day that she mentioned it, and that was something that she was hoping to avoid for at least a little while.

As far as anyone was concerned, it was just a normal day.

That was, until a dozen bright, red roses landed on her plate. "These are for you, Miss Weasley," the house elf that had delivered them beamed proudly. "They're from a _secret admirer._"

"Um, thank you," she murmured, barely audible as she stared at the flowers with wide eyes. It took her a moment to remember that the house elf was still standing there before she reached into her pocket and found a sickle to give them as a tip.

"Wow, Rose, who are those from?"

She looked up to see her cousin Lily behind her, admiring the flowers. "No one."

"Well they have to be from _someone_, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten them."

She was certain that Scorpius was probably enjoying her frustration from somewhere, but she didn't want to start looking for him, because then that would just look suspicious.

Though she had a feeling that she was doing just_ fine_ looking suspicious on her own.

"I don't know who they're from, okay?"

Lily sat down next to her, and started fingering the tissue paper, likely looking for a card. "I don't know why you're being so defensive, they're just roses. Why wouldn't you want them?"

Rose snatched the bouquet out of her hands as quickly as she could. "How happy would you be if someone got you a bouquet of lilies for Valentine's Day? It would be completely unoriginal."

Unoriginality, however, was not the problem. The problem was that the bouquet of roses was not a discreet snog after hours when they were on patrols and no one else was around. The roses occupied physical space and time and were something that her relatives could point to and ask questions about. She knew that she was lucky that Dominique and James spent forever sleeping, otherwise there would have been more threats about going to her dad (especially from James, because he was adamant about extorting a motorcycle out of her for some reason).

"Why would it being unoriginal matter?"

Rose was jolted back to reality when she noticed that Lily was staring at her expectantly. "I dunno - it just does. Anyway, I have Charms now, so I have to go." She hopped to her feet as quickly as she could and dashed out of the Great Hall, only to run straight into the offending Slytherin.

"Did you like the roses?"

The smarmy grin on his face made her narrow her eyes. "We'll talk later."

"Sure."

The expression on his features made Rose think that he wasn't taking the predicament as seriously as she did. Merlin, sometimes she really hated him.


	11. Innocence

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. This was written just for fun.

**Character(s):** James Potter II, Roxanne Weasley, Alexander Longbottom [OC]

**Word Count:** 285 | 4,615

* * *

James was still not entirely sure about what he'd just seen.

He'd gone down to the Quidditch Pitch with Dominique to get some practice in before the upcoming game against Slytherin (because there was no way that he was going to be known as the keeper that let in the goals that allowed his _brother's_ team to win). His cousin had a habit of being late no matter what, and as he had predicted, he'd made it there before she had.

He decided that he was going to at least get a couple of brooms from the shed at the edge of the field when he heard voices coming from the inside that sounded familiar.

_Too_ familiar.

Given the fact that he was not one for tact, he threw open the door to the shed. His cousin Roxanne was wrapped around Longbottom's kid whose name he couldn't really remember at the moment despite the fact that he was also on the Quidditch team. "...wow," he murmured, staring for a moment with wide eyes before Roxanne's gaze met his own.

"James! What are you doing here?!" She quickly unwound herself from (Joseph? Jacob? Albert?) and adjusted her skirt.

"Came to get a couple of brooms. Mind handing me one?"

Alexander (there it was!) tossed him a couple of Firebolt XII's, before pulling Roxanne back by her waist. "There, now you have your brooms. Mind leaving?"

The arrogant smirk across his face was enough to make James roll his eyes, but instead - he just smiled.

"Sure. And by the way, you're off the team."

Never mind the fact that he wasn't actually the team captain.


	12. Imagination

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. This was written just for fun.

**Character(s):** Fred Weasley II, James S. Potter

**Word Count: **306 | 4,921

* * *

"Do you ever think about the bloke you were named after?"

James leaned against the balcony and shook his head. "Why are you so bothered about that?"

Fred shrugged. "I don't know, sometimes I wonder what Fred was like. Not in stories, but for real." His dad had never minded talking about his twin brother. He'd happily recount the time that they turned a corridor into a untransfigurable swamp or the time that they set off fireworks in the castle. But afterwards, he would get quiet and go to another room in the house. Fred knew why - it was because the stories weren't just stories for him, they were memories.

James was also named after someone who had died because of You-Know-Who. So were Lily and Albus. But Lily was a Hufflepuff and Al was a Slytherin, so Fred didn't consider asking them the same question.

"No mate, I don't think about it."

Fred waited for a moment, hoping that James would offer a reason why. But instead, silence settled between them.

"Are you ready?" James asked after a few moments, and Fred nodded. The buckets that were perched on the edge of the balcony were quickly tipped onto their sides, emptying red and gold paint onto the Slytherin Quidditch team as they emerged from the locker rooms.

James beamed proudly as frustrated Slytherins in green and silver robes shouted colorful words and phrases, before he caught sight of a Slytherin that looked way too familiar. "Oh shit, Al," James muttered as he scrambled away from the ledge.

Fred paused for a moment as he tried to imagine what Fred I would have said, before deciding that it would probably be a better idea to follow James back to Gryffindor before Al caught either one of them.


	13. Kingdom

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. This was written just for fun.

**Character(s):** Teddy Lupin, Victoire Weasley

**Word Count: **236 | 5,157

* * *

Teddy's favourite time at Dervish and Banges was right before he opened the store in the morning. He would have the chance to get a cup of coffee in the break room, and examine the latest magical inventions that had been brought into the store. He liked looking at the pocket watches and cameras the most, and would often marvel at the way in which these objects (which bore a great resemblance to their muggle cousins) were able to function on the basis of magic alone.

It was also at that time, right before the shop opened, that he would think about Victoire. He was always thinking about her, but at those moments, he would think about what their life would be like together. He wanted to be able to afford a big house - near the Shell Cottage, preferably, and be able to buy her delicate goblin-made bracelets and the brightest, fullest red roses. Victoire had never asked for any of those things, but she deserved them. Teddy had always thought that if the wizarding world was a kingdom, its Queen would be Victoire.

One morning, he surveyed the shelves of pocket watches, sneak-o-scopes and cameras, and didn't feel the same sense of interest that he normally did. And it was on that day that once he finished his shift, he decided to go and fill out an application to the Auror Office.


	14. Options

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. This was written just for fun.

**Character(s): **Lucy Weasley, Molly Weasley II, mentions of Lorcan Scamander

**Word Count: **425 | 5,582

* * *

"Did Lorcan Scamander honestly trip into the lake on the way to talk to you?"

Lucy nodded as she hugged her books against her chest. She had asked Molly to come to the library with her to help her study for the upcoming Transfiguration exam. But instead of quizzing her on inanimate versus animate transfiguration, the entire conversation had been focused on the incident that had occurred at the lake earlier that week.

"I don't think it's such a big deal. He probably just wanted to say hello."

Molly raised an eyebrow as they rounded a corner. "I don't understand how you could possibly be so _utterly_ naive. Of course he likes you. He _tripped_ and fell in the _lake_."

It didn't feel right to be talking about someone in the corridor where anyone could hear, especially when the someone that they were talking about was someone that they knew, and that was fairly well known around the school. Every time that the two of them passed other students, Lucy silently hoped that they were far too absorbed in their own conversations to pick up theirs.

Lucy only shook her head and hugged her books even closer as they got closer to the library. She just wanted to review for the exam. She didn't want to talk about Lorcan, but it seemed as though the only thing that Molly was keen on talking about was him.

"...I mean, you're a _Weasley_ and he's a _Scamander_, so it would be a smart match. Obviously you both have other options, but it's so wonderful that he fancies you."

Usually when her sister started one of her tirades, she would just stay silently by her side until it was over. But the longer that she listened to Molly, the more she felt one single solitary word bubbling to the surface.

"_No._"

"...excuse me?"

Molly didn't look or sound angry, but she did look confused as Lucy, who was normally as quiet as a dormouse adopted an expression that she had never seen before on her sister's face.

"You don't get to tell me who I should date. You might be older, but you don't know better than I do," she said firmly, never wavering for a moment even though her heart was beating twice as fast in her ribcage.

She then turned on her heels and began walking as quickly as she could in the opposite direction. She didn't want to lose the small bit of courage that she had before she got back to the common room.


End file.
